Former Vredenburg Saldanha Cricket Club and current University of the Western Cape Cricket Club seamer Lizaad Williams has insisted the mental toughness gained at club level will serve him well in the T20 Global League.
Williams will play for the Stellenbosch Kings, after being acquired for R455,000 in round 11 of late August 2017’s player draft. He will play alongside Cape Cobras team-mates Wayne Parnell, Kyle Simmonds and Justin Ontong at the Kings.
“What I can take from club cricket, into the T20 Global League, especially as a youngster, is having improved my mental game,” the 23-year-old Williams told Club Cricket SA at Wednesday’s renaming of the Stellenbosch franchise, which was previously branded the Monarchs.
“There are a lot of old ballies in club cricket – and they verbally abuse you out on the field. Club cricket is the best thing to play before you maybe move onto higher honours. It can make you mentally tough.
“Week in and week out, you know you are going to get properly abused about whatever – the ‘gravy’ you get from your sponsors or even chirps about your mom. From a mental side of things, you have to stand up to this mentally.
Vredenburg Saldanha Cricket Club finished in third position in the 2016-17 Boland Cricket Board premier league, after four wins in nine attempts. The University of the Western Cape Cricket Club occupied sixth position in the Western Province Cricket Association premier league, on the back of five victories in nine matches.
“I am grateful for being linked with a great club like Vredenburg Saldanha Cricket Club. They are a bunch of passionate cricketers. They played a big role in my development. Even though I’m now part of the University of the Western Cape Cricket Club, I still go back there – and I’m involved as a mentor,” concluded Williams.